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Table of Contents
Title
Ice Ice SaltyBroad Question
Which Ice Melt Melts Ice Fastest?Specific Question
Which salt mix melts an ice cube at the quickest rate?Hypothesis
It is hypothesized that calcium chloride will melt the ice fastest.Graph of Hypothesis
Variables
Independent Variable:
Deicer/Ice meltDependent Variable:
Melting time, how long it took for the ice cube to meltVariables That Need To Be Controlled:
Amount of water in ice tray.The shape of the ice cubes.
Placement of ice cube on paper towel.
Pouring the ice melt over the ice cubes.
Amount of ice melt.
Timing procedures.
Setup for each trial.
Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation
Ice melt- Chemical mixes that melt iceBrine- Large amount of salt water
Hydroxide- A chemical consisting of one atom of hydrogen and one of oxygen
General Plan
Potential Problems And Solutions
Getting specific kinds of ice melts, look up what stores have each kind of ice melt before going to the actual storeSafety Or Environmental Concerns
Ice melt getting in someone's eyes, ice melt being eaten by an animal or by someone, deicer being spilled on the floorExperimental Design
Two days before the experiment was run the experimenter prepared 25 ice cubes in the science room freezer by filling each space of an ice tray with 10 milliliters of water. Next all the materials were gathered in the Josiah Bartlett Elementary School science room next to the back desk. Four 1 quart sized empty plastic yogurt containers were placed in a horizontal line on the table. Paper towels were then tightly secured over the top of each container with a rubber band. After this, 3.0 grams of each deicer was measured into four 100 ml size beakers. Then the ice cubes were taken from the freezer, put into plastic bags and placed on the table next to the containers. After that, the experimenter pressed the button to start the timer while placing one ice cube in the center of one of the paper towels. Almost immediately after that the 3 grams of calcium chloride was sprinkled over the ice cubes slowly and carefully. When this treated ice cube was completely finished melting, the timer was stopped and the melting time was recorded. This setup was done two more times for the halite and Sure Paws treatments, and then once more without any treatment. Then, this whole process was repeated four more times to complete the whole experiment.Resources and Budget Table
Procedure
Data Table
Data Analysis
All Raw Data
The temperature of each ice cube was measured during a trial.Calcium Chloride- 34 degrees Fahrenheit
Halite- 43 degrees Fahrenheit
Sure Paws- 48 degrees Fahrenheit
No Treatment- 66 degrees Fahrenheit
Graphs
Photos
Results
The average melting time for the calcium chloride ice cube was 34 minutes. For the halite ice cube, the average melting time was 43 minutes. The Sure Paws ice cube had an average melting time of 48 minutes. And the ice cube that was not treated had an average melting time of 66 minutes.Conclusion
The experiment was designed to test which kind of ice melt melts ice the fastest. Results have shown that calcium chloride melted the ice fastest. The average melting time for the calcium chloride ice cube was 34 minutes, for the halite ice cube the average melting time was 43 minutes, the Sure Paws ice cube had an average melting time of 48 minutes, and the ice cube without a treatment had an average melting time of 66 minutes.Discussion
The experiment question was, which ice melt melts ice the fastest? The experiment results did create an answer for the experiment question. The answer to the experiment question is: calcium chloride melts the ice fastest. It had been previously hypothesized that calcium chloride would melt the ice fastest. The hypothesis was supported by the results and the answer to the experiment question. The results and data that provide the answer to the experiment question show that the average melting time for the calcium chloride ice cube was 34 minutes, for the halite ice cube, the average melting time was 43 minutes, the Sure Paws ice cube had an average melting time of 48 minutes, and the ice cube that was not treated had an average melting time of 66 minutes. The first pattern or trend that has been discovered within the data and observations is all trials of the calcium chloride ice cubes presented a shorter melting time than the halite ice cubes, Sure Paws ice cubes, and the untreated ice cubes trials. Another pattern that was found within the data and observations is all the trials for the ice cubes that were not treated had a much longer melting time than all the trials for the other tested ice melt’s. The relationship between the independent variable conditions and the changes in the dependent variable is very strong. This is shown in the data that was collected, there was at least an eighteen minute difference between the no treatment average and the other average times. This experiment showed that adding a deicer to ice it will decrease the melt time. Calcium chloride was the most efficient deicer because it is a chloride that release heat(exothermic) as it dissolves, which helps it melt ice at extremely low temperatures. Calcium chloride also has a greater capacity to attract and retain moisture directly from its surroundings, which enables it to dissolve faster and start the melting process sooner. Some challenges or problems that were managed in the design of the experiment were forgetting to fill the ice tray with water so it would freeze before the experiment was conducted and getting the same setup for each ice cube. Some problems that arose during the experiment despite the design were knowing exactly when the ice cube was completely melted and not having enough of the same stopwatches and timers to measure the melting times. The experiment design and operation were changed as the experiment was run because step two, the gathering of materials, was not completed before being skipped. Some tasks that could have been done differently, better and smarter are remembering to fill the ice tray before the experiment and checking to make sure all the materials that are needed to conduct this experiment are present. The specialized information needed to conduct this experiment was about the deicers such as the cost, size and quality of the ice melts. The technology needed to run this experiment was a balance, that measures in grams, for measuring the amount of deicer applied to each ice cube, a camera to take quality pictures of the ice cubes melting, and Ipads used as a extra timers and to take extra pictures of the experiment.Benefit to Community and/or Science
The knowledge gained through this experiment could be of benefit to town crews who have to salt and sand the roads around town, using the information they could find the cheapest brand of calcium chloride if they needed the ice on roads to melt immediately, or they could use Sure Paws to insure that pets would be safe to walk around town. The knowledge gained through the experiment could also be of benefit to hospitals and community centers to find the right ice melt to provide safe walkways for patients and elders. Businesses could use the information from this experiment to help them not get sued if someone is to slip and fall on their property. Some new questions that could be studied to build upon the knowledge that has been created through this experiment are: Could any of these deicers be used to melt the ice covering the sides of household freezers? And if the experiment was set up differently, what would be the results be affected if the experiment was setup in town, on walkways or pavement. A future experiment that could be studied to build upon the knowledge that has been created through this experiment is the cost versus efficiency of commonly used ice melts.Background Research
Adding salt to water lowers the water’s freezing point because different reactions occur at the same time during a dynamic equilibrium. Metal salts, except sodium chloride, have the same effect on water but can cause the water to become toxic. This happens because most salts are built of ions that are capable of making relationships between(or with) hydrogen and hydroxide. Common examples include calcium chloride, sodium bisulfate and potassium dichromate. Salt works best at temperatures near 0 degrees Celsius(32 degrees Farenheit) because melting occurs quickly with a relatively small amount of salt. As the temperature falls, it takes more salt and more time to melt ice because a higher concentration of brine is required. For ice to melt, deicing chemicals must first get to pavement and dissolve into brine.Salt is the most effective, available and economical highway deicer in use today. It assures winter driving safety, even under the most severe snow and ice conditions. Rock salt and solar salt are most used on the United States highways. In Europe, because of its availability, evaporated salt is occasionally used.
Halite, also called "rock salt" is the most common ice melt. Halite is mined all around the world. The primary chemical in rock salt is NaCl, which causes damage to vegetation in concentrated form.
Calcium chloride(CaCl2) is a chloride that release heat(exothermic) as it dissolves, which helps it melt ice at extremely low temperatures. Calcium chloride also has a greater capacity to attract and retain moisture directly from its surroundings, which enables it to dissolve faster and start the melting process.
The Safe Step Sure Paws Pet-Friendly Ice Melt is 100% all-natural and doesn't contain any salt whatsoever. Safe for pets, humans and vegetation, the deicer includes a non-toxic formula and wont irritate skin. It can be used in temperatures down to -15 degrees Fahrenheit.
Recently awarded the U.S EPA's Design for the Environment certification, Sure Paws also clears driveways and walkways with a quality performance. This recommended deicer was developed using a patent-pending formula, and is also gentle on concrete and vegetation when used as directed.
References
Turpin, Kyle. "Why Does Adding Salt to Water Lower the Freezing Point? | eHow.com." eHow | How to Videos, Articles & More - Discover the expert in you. | eHow.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. <http://www.ehow.com/about_6512742_adding-water-lower-freezing-point_.html>.
"Calcium Chloride Ice Melt." Chemical Distributor | Chemical Supplier. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. <http://www.kissner.com/calcium-chloride-ice-melt/>.
"Which salt melts ice fastest? - Yahoo! Answers." Yahoo! Answers - Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. <http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061220000311AApfqV1>.
"Safe Step Sure Paws Pet-Friendly Ice Melt-56708 at The Home Depot." Home Improvement Made Easy with New Lower Prices | Improve & Repair. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2013. <http://www.homedepot.com/buy/safe-step-sure-paws-pet-friendly-ice-melt-56708.html>.
http://www.nasalt.com/products/deicing/residential/
https://www.ussalt.com/info/info_calcium_chloride.htm
Abstract
This experiment was conducted to test which ice melt would melt an ice cube the fastest. It was hypothesized that calcium chloride would melt the ice cube the fastest. Four different ice melts were applied to ice cubes and the melting times for each were recorded. The results showed that calcium chloride had an average melting time of 34 minutes, halite’s average was 43 minutes, Sure Paw’s average was 48 minutes, and no treatment was 66 minutes. Calcium chloride melted the ice cube fastest.